Poise (Dark Souls III)
Poise is a derived stat and gameplay mechanic in Dark Souls III. Mechanics Poise influences the effectiveness of Hyper Armor, which in turn determines whether a player who is in the middle of an attack can be interrupted, or whether the attack continues and hits its target. This is especially important when using powerful but slow weapons such as ultra greatswords. The actual Poise number is expressed as a percentage of Poise Damage that is reduced when attacked during Hyper Armor frames. When wielding a weapon capable of utilizing Hyper Armor frames, the player's Poise Health is generally determined by the class of the weapon (greatswords, hammers, etc.), though some weapons such as the Greatlance and Crucifix of the Mad King are exceptions that have increased Poise Health. Poise Health is also temporarily increased for the duration of certain weapons' skills. When the player is hit by attacks while in Hyper Armor frames, they will incur Poise Damage, depending on the type of weapon and specific attack. Whether or not they will be knocked out of the attack is determined by whether the Stagger Point is reached, by reducing Poise Health to 0: Stagger Point = Poise Health - (Poise Damage × ) If Poise Health is reduced to 0, whether from a single strong attack or multiple weak attacks, the attack will be interrupted and the player will be staggered. Poise health will be reset to full under the following conditions: *Once the player has been staggered *If the player takes no Poise damage for 30 seconds *Using a skill If an attack is performed while the player has depleted but not empty Poise health (e.g., it has been reduced during a successfully completed attack), their Poise health will be set to 80% of its maximum at the start of Hyper Armor frames of the new attack. Increasing Poise The player's Poise is primarily increased by wearing armor, though it can also be reinforced via the use of two weapons, the Lothric Knight Long Spear and Yhorm's Greatshield, and can also benefit from equipping the Wolf Ring. Increasing Poise is subject to diminishing returns based on the following formula: A + B - Where A'' is the player's current Poise and ''B is the amount of Poise being added through equipment. The Poise from equipping four pieces of armor, A'' through ''D, is then determined as follows: A + B + C + D - + - Which again can be further increased via equipping the associated weapons and ring. Poise Health modifiers Poise health during an attack can vary depending on the type of attack. A weapon uses its base Poise health when performing standard attacks or strong attacks, with certain smaller weapons such as greatswords and hammers being incapable of utilizing Hyper Armor unless two-handed. Performing a running or rolling attack will reduce Poise health to 50% of its base value (and in the case of ultra weapons, allows them to be parried). Performing a fully-charged strong attack, whether one-handed or two-handed, will increase Poise health by 50%. Poise Damage modifiers As with Poise health, Poise damage can also be modified depending on the situation. A weapon's base Poise damage is considered when performing one-handed standard attacks. When a standard attack is performed while two-handing the weapon, Poise damage is increased by 30%; the same also applies when performing a strong attack while one-handing the weapon. When the weapon is two-handed and a strong attack is performed, Poise damage is increased by 55% of its base value. When a strong attack is fully charged, Poise damage inflicted will be 155% of its base value if the weapon is one-handed, and 165% if the weapon is two-handed. Running and jumping attacks will increase the Poise damage inflicted by 10%, whether one-handed or two-handed. If a weapon possesses a sweet-spot mechanic, such as a halberd or reaper, failing to hit the target at the optimal range with standard attacks (both one- and two-handed) will reduce Poise damage inflicted by 10%. gameplay mechanic